Bacon Chocolate Chip Sandwich Cookies with Maple Buttercream Frosting

Hellooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo! I haven’t seen you guys since National S’mores Day! That was like 3 weeks ago right? I’m terrible at math, let me see how ma… whoa! That was almost 2 months ago!?

How’s it going! What’s happenin’!? How’s the weather??

Ok, fine, I’ll cut the chit-chat. I’m sorry, ok! It’s not my fault I’ve been away so long. It’s what happens when I give myself projects on other sites. Speaking of which, not to drop a cheap plug, but if you’re into gaming and were/currently enjoying Disney Infinity 2.0, I wrote up a ton of content featuring the original game along with a bunch of unboxing videos and posts for 2.0. So go check it out if you’re interested! I’ll do a Humpday Gaming Update next week to bring you up to date.

Of course, no matter what you may think, I haven’t forgotten about you guys here! I feel so bad, honestly. It’s like I invited you to a S’mores party, dropped the goods, walked out, locked the door behind me, and left you to fend for yourself for 2 months. Geeze, I’m such a terrible, horrible person. Maybe I should just quit…

…Or try to make it up to you?

I know, it’s so cliché – the man messing up and doing you wrong then coming back asking for forgiveness by bringing you flowers and hugs and bacon chocolate chip cookie sandwiches filled with maple buttercream frosting.

Ahhhhh…. I guess you’re right. I haven’t been gone that long. And sure, you can have a cookie!

Why? Because it’s National Cookie Month!! Yes! All month long you can have as many cookies as you want because it’s considered patriotic or something. So do it for your country.

I figured I left you guys for.. what was it? Like 2 weeks, right? Haha. I left you guys here after a few Wilton posts for National S’mores Day. So why not come back to another Wilton post to kick off National Cookie Month!?

I used Wilton’s Whoopie Pie Pan to make the cookies. Which I loved and would totally do again. It was great not having to worry about getting a uniform shape when making a cookie, especially if it’s for cookie sandwiches. You want them to be perfect and uniform.

Sucks I wasn’t able to grab this Harvest Whoopie Pie Pan because it would’ve been freaking SWEET for these!

I also used Wilton’s recipe for Maple Buttercream Icing, which I admit I had my doubts on but it turned out great.

Bacon Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 cup – Bacon Grease, solidified
1/2 cup – Sugar
1/4 cup – Brown Sugar
2 each – Eggs
1 teaspoon – Vanilla Extract
2 1/2 cups – Flour
1 teaspoon – Baking Soda
2 packages – Chocolate Chips
1 package – Bacon, cooked and crumbled

Maple Buttercream Frosting (adapted from Wilton)

4 cups – Powdered Sugar, sifted
6 tablespoons – Butter
2-3 tablespoons – Half & Half
2 tablespoons – Maple Syrup

Notes

I used my favorite cookie recipe with a few of the best modifications I’ve ever tried.
You’ll want to make the bacon and save the grease ahead of time. Just so you can put it in the fridge until it hardens up since it’s going to be replacing the butter.
Since I’m using bacon grease, I didn’t use any salt in the recipe.
When I did this, I made candied bacon. Even though it seemed like a good idea, I wouldn’t use it again. The candied bacon not only masked the bits of bacon in the cookie by making them more sweet than salty, it also didn’t produce the bacon grease I needed.
So yeah, I had to go and make more bacon! Can you imagine how terrible that was? I know you’re feeling so bad for me right now.
The Maple Buttercream from Wilton is slightly adapted because I didn’t have maple flavoring, but I did have 100% maple syrup. I also used whole milk instead of half & half since I also did not have it handy. Came out really good, but I’m sure if you used the flavoring it would’ve been a much stronger maple flavor.

Ok, enough! Let’s get our bacon on.

Before we start on the cookies, you’ll want to make your bacon. So heat the oven to 400 and lay your bacon in a single layer on a sheet pan. When the oven is heated, put the pan in there for about 15 minutes, but check it maybe at about 10 minutes just in case. It’s bacon, you’ll know when it’s ready.

When the bacon comes out, set it aside to drain off and crumble it up when it cools. Then once the pan cools, pour the grease into a container and put it in the fridge until it feels like butter. Once it reaches that consistency, get a knife and spread it on some toast. Haha, no, I’m just kidding. Don’t do that…. without telling me about it immediately.

Set your oven to 375 because now we’re making the cookies. I prefer a light and airy cookie, so creaming the butter and sugar is key. Go ahead and cream the bacon grease and sugars for a few minutes till it’s fluffy looking. Yeeeesssss, cream the bacon grease with the sugar.

Sorry, just wanted to say it again.

Then start adding the eggs one at a time as well as the vanilla. Mix together your dry ingredients – flour and baking soda – and incorporate it in about 3 batches. Once you got the dough, pour the most amazing looking bowl I’ve ever seen into it.

I think if I put this bowl out to give to Trick or Treaters we’d be the best house ~~on the block~~ in a 2 mile radius. Anyway, mix until it’s incorporated.

Get your whoopie pie pan and spray it. Then add about a tablespoon of dough to each cavity.

Pop it in the oven for 9-11 minutes, and you should get these.

Now if you’re feeling lazy, you could just stop here. Seriously, bacon and chocolate? These cookies are pretty freaking tasty.

But we can’t be lazy when it comes to buttercream. Plus we’re right here! So close I can taste them!

Take them out of the pan and let them cool. While that’s happening, let’s make the good stuff.

Buttercream is terrible. I can’t stand the stuff. It’s just so sweet and addicting, it’s almost evil. If I knew I would live afterwards, I would try to consume all the buttercream in the world just to save humanity from it’s controlling grasp. And this has maple in it?! As if it wasn’t already enough!

This is simple. Just sift the sugar right into the mixing bowl, add everything else, and mix until it comes together.

I’d use the least amount of half & half or whatever you’re using, just to see where it goes. Once done, I like to refrigerate it just so it can get nice and stiff before piping.

Once the cookies are cool and the buttercream has been made, just throw it in a bag and pipe away. You can put as little or as much as you want, I’m not going to be a buttercream nazi about it.

After that, you are done! The bacon, the cookie, the chocolate, the maple… boy, oh boy. Your taste buds are going to be dancing like naked hippies under a full moon.

I really hope I can get in the kitchen and start whipping some more stuff up for the blog. It’s been too long and I’ve missed the food talks. And of course we’re reaching that time of year where everything is going to be covered in pumpkin spice as if some mystical Pumpkin being flew into the kitchens of food bloggers and the like, just shaking his great pumpkin spice canister.